Despite their names being published and letters being sent, less than two per cent of persons who were given a deadline to collect their identification cards actually turned up. According to a Guyana Elections Commissioner, whether they have an ID card to vote or not is a non-issue.
This is according to Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander on Tuesday after a statutory meeting. Alexander admitted that whether persons have identification cards to vote or not is not the issue.
Indeed, there is nothing in Guyana’s laws that prohibit someone from voting if they do not have an ID card. Despite this, however, GECOM was willing, at one point, to exclude such persons from voting. Alexander noted that the issue is whether they are alive or not and whether there’s a chance their names will be used for fraudulent purposes.
“I think from observation; we don’t have that large number of people who don’t use ID cards. Whether or not they’ve (voted without ID cards) in the past, we’ve made an effort to say to these people, come and uplift your cards”.
“Non-response, one has to take it as a problem. Not merely that someone doesn’t want to uplift their ID card. We’ve written to them and published their names. We’re trying to determine these peoples’ existence, it’s not the ID card that’s the issue”.
According to Alexander, there is a possibility that these persons are dead or overseas and unable to vote. The Commissioner claimed that there is little-to-no mechanism to take deceased voters off the voters’ list.
Initially, GECOM had announced that approximately 20,000 persons who did not collect ID cards over the past few years would be prevented from voting. After much criticism from sections of society, however, this decision was changed in favour of these persons being allowed to vote. It was announced, though, that these persons would be placed on a separate list.
This decision has been criticised by the Opposition, with GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj explaining that in the past, presiding officers using their discretion have prohibited persons from voting.
Meanwhile, Alexander revealed that GECOM is presently addressing other issues such as a shortage of staff for key positions. It is understood that these posts had included a Logistics Manager.
Other positions that were open were for an Assistant Chief Elections Officer and a Research Officer. In addition, GECOM needed someone with responsibility for civic and voter education. One proposal that was put forward at the time was for temporary staff to be hired.
